A quick breakdown....

Posted by Mandy Housenick | September 27, 2009 at 10:47 PM

In case you're a little confused by the clinching possibilities (magic number of 3), I'll break it down for you.

The earliest the Phillies can clinch is Tuesday. There are two scenarios that could make that happen. Option one: the Phillies have to win Monday and Tuesday and the Braves have to lose to the Marlins either Monday or Tuesday....Option two: the Phillies could wrap up the division by winning either Monday or Tuesday, as long as the Braves lose both Monday and Tuesday's games.

Without help, the Phillies could clinch on Wednesday. That means if the Phillies win the first three games of their home series against Houston, it doesn't matter what the Braves do. They could win each game against Florida and the Phillies would still win the division.

There is certainly that chance it could come down to the final weekend, as it did each of the past two years. That would happen if the Phillies got swept by the Astros and the Braves don't get swept by the Marlins.

Every time the Braves lose, the Phillies' magic number goes down by one; same for every Phillies' win.

On days during which the Phillies win and the Braves lose, the Phillies' magic number is reduced by two.

Wondering if it can come down to the final day like 2007?

Sure. Here's just one scenario....the Phillies go 2-4 in their next six games and the Braves go 6-0 (going into Sunday, the regular-season finale).

To believe Park, Romero and Myers are gonn bounce right in after all this time seems to be a "Lost-in-Space" idea. Yay, it might rightly be called a "Poison Idea." Therefore, Condrey and Walker are probably in. We have to assume Martinez will be back. This means, oh no, it's a no-no-noshki---Lidge!!! Ouch. That's a quadruple ouch-me!